Trust Me.......Bigger is Better !

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       When it comes to steaks, ice cream sundaes, and cameras.......I like them big. When it comes to my camera, that means I like a full-frame sensor with as many megapixels as I can get, because that translates into bigger, sharper, and more detailed images,  assuming I use good technique and pay close attention to my subject.

      It also means I have some options available to me after I take the shot. With an image file in excess of 60+ megabites, I can do some cropping of the image and still have plenty of data to create a large fine art print. It means I can exercise my artistic talents in deciding just how I want the final image to appear. That translates into a huge advantage to a photographer, and one that I might not have with a small sensor in my camera. Because I make my living as a fine art photographer, I want all of the options I can have in producing my final images.

       Above I have taken one of my shots of a field of wildflowers, and I have played around with cropping the image in several different ways. I, of course, have the final say in which one is going to become the final image, but each of the crops offers something a little  different to the viewer. Your choice may well  be different from mine, and that's great. The important thing here is to simply recognize that we have lots of options to play with after the shutter has been fired. I like to encourage young photographers to explore different perspectives and views of a subject. Don't lock  yourself into your first choice in how you see a subject. Even after you may have shot dozens of images, you still have the opportunity to crop the image, and therefore  see it in an entirely different way. Give  it a try, and I think  you might just be surprised with how an old shot can be reborn.

      Finally,  for those  interested, I am currently shooting with a Canon 5D mkll and a Sony A900. Both cameras are full-framed sensors in excess of 21 megapixels. I shoot all of my images in RAW format, and process the files in Adobe Lightroom 3.6.